Sunflower Zucchini Bread

A twist on classic zucchini bread, Sunflower Zucchini Bread {page 405} has protein-rich sunflower seeds baked right into the bread.

This delicious bread has all the components you've grown to love in standard zucchini bread - moist, comforting, slightly sweet, the illusion of health {"Hey, it has zucchini in it, so it's good for me!"}. All of those factors are amped up by the presence of the delightful little sunflower seeds. They add interesting texture and flavor, as well as amp up the nutritional qualities.

The Ninjahusband found the bread a little odd with the seeds in it, but I really liked them. Maybe next time I'll make 2 loaves - one without seeds for him, one with extra seeds for me.

-- Your Friendly Neighborhood Batgirl

Ginger-Molasses Bread with Blueberries

Much as I adore it in all of its incarnations, I’ve never made gingerbread before. So since I had all of the ingredients on hand, and since anything with molasses piques my interest (I’m pretty sure I didn’t know what that was until hopping the pond), I decided to bake up the Ginger-Molasses Bread with Blueberries (page 404).

I substituted white whole wheat flour for the all-purpose and a mix of light brown sugar and dark brown (the stuff is amazing, it’s moist and wonderfully fragrant, calling to mind molasses; I love it so much, I sometimes sneak pinches just like that.)

The aroma emanating from the oven? Dreamy. The bread? Delicious. The half cup of cornmeal really does wonders for the consistency. Tender, moist, and flavorful, there’s nothing more I could wish for in a sweetbread. I’ll be keeping this in mind for next winter and a big audience. (Frozen blueberries = definitely the way to go.)

- - Ulpia, bakes 'em up - -

Pumpkin Bread with Cranberries

I'm a sucker for quick breads in general, and even more of a sucker for pumpkin, and I'm happy to report that Pumpkin Bread with Cranberries {page 402} did not disappoint on either front.

The bread was the perfect texture, light but dense enough to hold together, with a hearty yet delicate crumb and a bit of a chewiness to it. The pumpkin flavor was rich, and complimented perfectly by the array of standard pumpkin-related spices, and the cranberries were perfect little nuggets of tart-but-sweet happiness.

I took the bread to work with me and shared it with my coworkers, all of which agreed that it was spectacular. One of my coworkers actually asked me to move it away from her because she couldn't stop eating it.

It was easy to put together, and the perfect treat for a cool fall morning.

-- Your Friendly Neighborhood Batgirl